Tech

Wattvision Is the Speedometer of Your Home Energy Usage [VIDEO]

While you're worrying about your smartphone data usage, who's worrying about your home's energy usage? A company based in Princeton, N.J., makes monitoring your energy use easy with a smart energy sensor and mobile app, Wattvision 2, a Kickstarter-funded project.

Wattvision 2 links directly to your power meter –- analog or digital –- and sends your home's energy data straight to its servers. The company's open API allows for direct access through a smartphone app or on your laptop through the Internet. Sorted into real-time charts, the data will allow users to monitor their power usage by honing in on specific appliances to see how much energy they use.

"It's like a speedometer — with real-time feedback, you know where you stand," Wattvision CEO Savraj Singh told Mashable. "It's easier to make and understand the impact of changes."

Powered by a standard AC wall unit adapter, the sensor connects to most meters and can be set up in less than five minutes. It's not only an eco-friendly way to save on your monthly energy bill, it's an eco-friendly product that uses fewer than 2 watts of power. If you already have an energy-monitoring sensor, the Wattvision app can connect to that as well.

Wattvision 2 will be an improved version of earlier models (which sold for $249) by allowing connectivity to any meter instead of only a select few.

"Wattvision 2 is more robust. It supports more wireless networks (v1 was just wireless B), has ethernet (v1 didn't have ethernet) and is much easier to set up," Singh says.

The team has reached $40,653 of its $50,000 Kickstarter goal with 322 backers and six days to go.

Is Wattvision something you'd back? Electrify us with your thoughts in the comments below.

BONUS: 5 Eco-Friendly Apps That Could Change City Living

5 Apps From NYC's Sustainability Hackathon, Reinvent Green

Bike Pooling, winner of Best App for Transportation, is trying to make the city more bike friendly by forming "car pools" for bikers. The app helps you connect with others who make similar commuting routes on wheels each morning.

Find the nearest public recycling bin with GreenCan, rather than dumping your recyclables in the trash. You can search based on the type of material you're looking to recycle. The app, winner in the Best App for Recycling category, will give the city feedback as to where it should place different sorts of recycling facilities.

The judge's pick from the hackathon was Green, Greener, Greenest!, a competition between neighborhoods for taking green actions. The competition tracks oil and energy consumption, and trees planted so far, but other metrics can be added.

What's Hot

More in Tech

What's New

What's Rising

What's Hot

Mashable
is a leading global media company that informs, inspires and entertains the digital generation. Mashable is redefining storytelling by documenting and shaping the digital revolution in a new voice, new formats and cutting-edge technologies to a uniquely dedicated audience of 42 million monthly unique visitors and 24 million social followers.